Superdiversity law, policy and business stocktake announced

Tuesday, 12 May 2015, 12:49 pm
Press Release: Chen Palmer

News release
12 May 2015

Superdiversity law, policy and business stocktake announced

Mai Chen, Managing Partner at Chen Palmer New Zealand Public and Employment Law Specialists and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Auckland, today announced the establishment of a Superdiversity Centre for Law, Policy and Business to compile a Superdiversity Stocktake of key statistics and analysis, studies and surveys to help Government, business, organisations and New Zealanders transition to the country’s rapidly changing demographic profile.

The Centre will work in partnership with the University of Auckland School of Law and the Patron of the Superdiversity Centre is the former Governor General, Judge and Ombudsman, the Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand.

The Stocktake will be published this year online and in hard copy, with assistance from the Human Rights Commission, the Department of Internal Affairs (Office of Ethnic Communities), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and Auckland Council (Land Use and Infrastructure Research and Evaluation Unit (RIMU)). The Superdiversity Centre will update the Stocktake annually.

The Centre will focus on the viewpoints of the diverse in the challenges they experience and their views on best solutions.

“A superdiverse society is one with over 100 ethnicities, or where more than 25% of the population was born overseas. New Zealand is superdiverse already, and the trend is towards increased superdiversity across the country. To maximise the diversity dividend of increased innovation, productivity and investment, Government, business and organisations need information and analysis to factor into their strategic business planning. The Superdiversity Stocktake will provide that, and it should be a useful resource also for all New Zealanders,” said Mai Chen, who chairs the Centre. Chen Palmer Partner James Dunne will be the Superdiversity Centre’s Chief Executive.

“The Superdiversity Stocktake will review New Zealand’s law, policy settings to identify the key areas which are challenged by superdiversity, and what our current law and policy is doing to address those challenges, to ensure New Zealand sustainably benefits from the diversity dividend. It will identify relevant and useful statistics, studies, research and surveys already undertaken and ongoing.

“The Superdiversity Stocktake focuses on eight key challenges as we transition to superdiversity:
· Maintaining social cohesiveness and sense of nationhood;

· Discrimination against the diverse;

· Maximising the economic opportunities of superdiversity;

· Democratic and constitutional ramifications, including to electoral law;

· The place of Maori in a superdiverse society;

· Extremism;

· Preserving our transparent and anti-corrupt business and government culture; and

· State sector response.”

Mai Chen’s inaugural professorial address is being delivered tonight:

Topic: Demographic Disruption, Mai Chen on the implications of superdiversity
Date: Tuesday 12 May 2015
Time: 6PM – 7PM
Venue: Lecture Theatre 439, Faculty of Engineering, 20 Symonds Street, Auckland

ends

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